The Broad Brush

If an individual does something wrong, they don’t automatically represent everybody that looks like or culturally aligns with the wrongdoer. Individuals are responsible for their individual behavior, however, modern leanings are to call out a certain undefined but improper behavior and associate it with a large or prominent group of people - sweeping general accusations - which lets the truly guilty individuals off the hook and breeds mistrust for those who aren’t actually guilty, but simply share the capacity for the evil being described. It’s all a well-intentioned attempt to discourage a behavior, but rather than focus on the individuals who are guilty of it, the focus is placed on an entire group associated with it.

What typically follows, in all forms of this type of accusation, are those who seek to publicly establish the fact that they aren’t a part of the current problem being addressed - making association with the accused group and certain behavior the new standard to avoid, rather than being innocent until proven guilty as an individual. It’s simply human political moves on a virtue chess board. It turns culture into a social club, with markers that allow entry or denial based on embracing the currently accepted narrative. Basically stating that if you don’t believe the same as me, you aren’t allowed in.

Throwing the baby out with the bath water has become our go to in order to satisfy our God given sense of justice, but it’s a misplaced endeavor. This is our new normal, and it must be rejected. Instead of wielding misplaced judgment on groups of people, hold individuals accountable for their actions. Assume the best about everybody else. Don’t categorize groups of people based on the negative aspects of one, two, three, or a hundred people - things can get very messy for every single people group that way. Treat others as you would want to be treated. If that could be our political perspective, the country would be a much happier, safer, and more unified place.